Sprouts Deli

This continues my review series on grocery store eating.  It can be a good idea to have something to eat before shopping, so you don't overbuy.  Today I tried this at the Sprouts delicatessen, with the idea of comparing it to Harvest Market at the other end of the neighborhood.

The deli is basically Boar's Head, same as you can get at Kroger and other places, and the menu is limited to sandwiches and soups.  It's priced like Kroger also, not bad for a specialty grocer.  They have an ordering system where you fill out a form and then they make up your sandwich while you wait or shop.

I ended up with a custom sandwich--roast beef and turkey with cheese, avocado and dressing.  I wanted it on multigrain bread but they were out of that, but they did suggest I get a multigrain telera roll from the bakery and they would put it on that.

The sandwich was toasted and tasted just fine.  I had a combo, which in a healthy move comes with water instead of a soda.  I tried to substitute cornbread (cheaper) for the chips in the combo, but no dice, so they are maybe not so flexible.  I had a cup of chicken noodle soup to go with it.

Both the sandwich and soup were noticeably lower in salt than what you usually get at a deli.  The soup in particular had almost no salt, but was quite delicious--less sodium meant the chicken and carrot flavors came through.

They have a dining space that appears to double as the employee break space.  Reasonably clean but not that attractive as an option.

As far as a comparison with Harvest Market--many in the area say good things about the produce and meats at Sprouts--excellent selection and prices.  They also have some good bargains in the bulk items.  Absolutely worth checking out for that.  Sprouts is focused on food, where Harvest Market aspires to cover all the same areas as the major grocers.  Harvest Market is a local chain--Sprouts is national, based out of California.  But as far as prepared meals go, Harvest Market is much more committed.  Sprouts is limited to sandwiches.  The sandwiches are OK if you want them to make something to take with you, not more than that.

My Yelp Review

Domino's Pizza at Timberwilde (Near Bahama Buck's)

This location isn't in our normal delivery area, but in the interest of location comparison I placed an online order for pickup.  Of the big chains, Domino's is the one we order from most often and they rarely disappoint.  We got an ExtravaganZZa, a Wisconsin 6 cheese, some parmesan cheese bread, and a couple of Chocolate Lava Crunch cakes.  We also tried the crispy bacon and tomato chicken.

The pizza was great as always.  We're always happy with their cheese and specialty pizzas.  The cheese bread has the cheese in the middle, which we like best.  The chicken and dessert were new items for us.  The chicken is basically chicken nuggets with various toppings, so far as I can tell.  It was OK but pizza oven temperatures dry it out a bit.  It's the same with the chocolate lava crunch cakes--the heat overdoes the outside.  But they were still a big hit with the kids.  They are best very hot, so eat dessert first or maybe microwave them.

Domino's, like all the chains, tries to make their locations indistinguishable.  Still some locations are better than others.  This one was very efficient with preparation, our order was ready in 15 minutes (I got there in 20).  But they didn't check the order at the counter (Marco's does that), and I didn't get the dipping sauces I asked for.  A bit of a markdown for that.

Part of what makes Domino's pizza appealing is that they really lay on the salt.  It tastes saltier than any of the other major brands, so I looked up the nutrition info for Domino's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's and Marco's.  They are all required by law to publish nutrition info, and when I compared reasonably equivalent pizzas, Domino's has around 30-180 milligrams more of salt per slice (on a large pizza) than the others (Marco's appears to be the lowest).  On average each slice has about half of your day's salt allowance, but then again none of them are actually very low.  Most places have options for healthier versions if you ask.

So good news for our area, whichever location you live close to is going to be fine.

My Yelp Review

Domino's Nutrition Info
Pizza Hut Nutrition Info
Papa John's Nutrition Info
Marco's Nutrition Info

Buffalo Wild Wings, Now at Grand Parkway Marketplace

I stopped in to the new location today to see what is different, if anything.  Overall, I would say it's mostly the same.  This time around I tried a burger--the Wisconsin cheese curd burger.  Had some Buffalo chips with it, and finished with a mini chocolate cake for dessert.

The burger was OK, not spectacular or terrible--since the patty was a frozen prefab this is about the best they can do.  The cheese curds are little fried cheese balls, with cheese sauce to hold them in place.  The burger comes with very good bacon so it was a decent bacon cheeseburger experience, and nice to try something different.  The Buffalo chips were not as crisp as real chips, nor as soggy as their pun.  They were nicely done.  But the place misses an opportunity here.  They aren't seasoned at all.  There was also no seasoning on the table, so you'd have to start from scratch (by requesting salt and pepper) to season them yourself.  The chocolate cake was a good kid item, very sweet and gooey.  Mine came as chocolate cake chunks with the icing on the bottom, which worked out just fine.

There are lots of bitter complaints on Yelp about the service at this location.  I was there on a busy Saturday and I will say that the service was polite but quite relaxed.  I was there for about an hour as a table of one.  If they are trying to turn over tables quickly, as some say, they aren't succeeding.

I didn't have a beer on this occasion, but I counted 29 beers on tap and they had more in bottles, which is a pretty solid selection.  They even have details on their beer glass in the menu.  The only thing separating it from a good brew pub would be that they only have one shape of glass.

For all the reported troubles they seem quite busy and popular.  There's plenty to like here, especially if you like wings and beer (and that covers a lot of people).  But don't be in a hurry, and try not to pick fights with the waitstaff.

My Yelp Review

Jet's Pizza

Our family is mostly easy to please with pizza, so long as we get our favorite toppings.  We've tried out all the local options, but we mostly alternate between Domino's and Papa John's based on coupons (Marco's is OK, but in my view just not quite as good).  We tried Jet's for the first time the other night.  I placed the order through their online system and picked it up at this location.  We had three different pizzas--a Jet 10 on hand tossed, Alfredo on thin crust and cheese on deep dish.  Also had some 3 cheese bread.  I got to the shop a bit early and had to wait, but the pizzas were ready when they said they would be.

The Jet 10 had a generous amount of toppings.  All three pizzas were very good, and we would definitely be willing to order from them again.  I misplaced the coupons and the online deals were not great, so the meal turned out to be more expensive than I would wish.  The only critique I would have on the pizza is that the thin and hand tossed crusts are just a little chewier than my favorite (which is Pizza Hut, but the service is so bad we don't get it much).  The service was mostly fine but they did have an issue with calling my name when my pizzas were ready, so I waited a bit longer than I had to.

Overall it's good pizza and I would eat it again, and recommend it.  I can't pick out any way they are uniquely better than any of the majors, though.  Not sure it will displace our favorites that are closer to our house, but if we saw a good coupon deal we would for sure consider it.

My Yelp Review

Tacqueria Hot Salsa

This is a pleasing new discovery in our area.  I saw this place while driving and made a point to stop and try it out.  I sampled all the different meats--beef, barbacoa, pastor, and chicken, on a mix of corn and flour tortillas.  Washed it down with a pineapple agua fresca.

I was very pleased with all of them.  The barbacoa was my favorite, soft and tender with great flavor.  I am not always a fan of al pastor, but this version really appealed to me, it was balanced and not too acidic.  The chicken and beef tacos were just fine, but it's hard for those to be more than ordinary.

I tried both the red and green salsas.  They both had great homemade flavor, each delivering a pleasant kick without overwhelming the food.  They have a little more oil than most salsas, and cling to a fork.  This makes them spread through your mouth as you eat the taco.  Yum!

The taco shells were somewhat firmer than average, which kept the tacos from falling apart in my hand.  The corn tortilla tacos had two tortillas, which further reinforced them.  The tortillas contributed well to the flavor, and meant the tacos ate neatly.  I usually do like my flour tortillas a bit less chewy.

The pineapple agua fresca was very good and refreshing, a great sweet treat.  It took me awhile to try aguas frescas because I'm so fond of Mexican Coke, but it's worthwhile to break tradition.

The owner was very sweet and helpful, and guided me on which fillings went best with which tortilla.

A few caveats: The facebook page below lists their hours, but I don't know how closely they keep to them.  The first time I tried to go it was closed during the listed time, and I sometimes see it closed on my drive, so it might be worthwhile to call first if you are making a special trip.   Also, this business is CASH ONLY, the owner said she was working on credit cards but don't count on it.

All in all it's not quite going to displace Tony's Street Tacos as my favorite, but you might be able to get a taco truck fix at a time when Tony's isn't open.  Big Cab's, on the same lot, is closed for the season this year, so Tacqueria Hot Salsa could use the support.

Tacqueria Hot Salsa Facebook Page

My Yelp Review